lookjng for a new p38 advuce sought

Replacment diesel engines are easyer to find as vauxhall and bmw used the same engine
Just the other day i saw an mot fail omega with 2.5diesel engine or sale for £300

Buy the car pull the engine get £150-£200 back when you scrap the car

Said this would start the usual debate.
Just to add....DON'T test drive a V8 if your not prepared to live with the potential consequences.....you wont want a diesel after driving a petrol

martynv8 said:

Said this would start the usual debate.
Just to add....DON'T test drive a V8 if your not prepared to live with the potential consequences.....you wont want a diesel after driving a petrol

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Really? I would never buy another petrol car of any make given the choice and especially not a V8 or any V configuration for that matter.

dogsbody said:

i wouldn't ignore the diesels just because you had a bad 'un. If it's speed you're after try contacting steve000, he's in north bristol with a chipped diesel. It goes like stink.
O.k. Maybe his gearbox won't last as long as it might but that's a much easier and cheaper swap out than a v8 with gas.

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+1

Oh really :scratching_chin:

ummmmmmmm......

I have had V8's and a Diesel...

No problem with the Diesel after driving V8's...horses for courses...at the time I could only justify the diesel variant and I found it totally liveable with and even quite pokey when prodded....

I have to say those who say the diesel is sluggish obviously need to do some work to theirs as mine was quite rapid when needed to be...and that comes from someone who has had V8 Range Rovers and V8 7'er BMWs.....and one of the 740iL I had got me from Bagshot to Portsmouth in under 23 minutes to catch a ferry.... o - Sorry Officers )

Datatek said:

Really? I would never buy another petrol car of any make given the choice and especially not a V8 or any V configuration for that matter.

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I've driven a few diesels and found you had to floor it everywhere to extract any sort of performance out of them. Whereas the V8 you just waft about, isn't that what a Range Rover is about?

stjohnsmythe said:

I've driven a few diesels and found you had to floor it everywhere to extract any sort of performance out of them. Whereas the V8 you just waft about, isn't that what a Range Rover is about?

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Spot on....you can get some power out of the diesels....it just doesn't make for a pleasant & refined driving experience flooring your right foot all the time.

All about what you expect, what your used to i guess

martynv8 said:

Oh really :scratching_chin:

ummmmmmmm......

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Yes really, much more flexibilty in fuel availablity in crisis for one thing, generally more economical and good for much higher mileages if well looked after. 300K on a diesel (even a BMW diesel) is not unusual, no Rover V8 will get near that.
Personally I hate the uneven beat of most V engines, the PSA V6 with 120 degree crank throws was the nearest to acceptable that I've owned.
An in line engine is als much easier to work on.
You are welcome to your V8, it's lifestyle macho image thing mainly.

& once again the usual debate decends into the usual absurdity.

I had the Classic 3.5 V8 Vogue and loved the sound and performance, but the fuel consumption became a drain on my pocket after a while. Then came the Disco 2.5 diesel which I thought was ok. I now have the P38 with the BMW 2.5 diesel and find it good enough for my purpose. It gives me reasonably good MPG and the performance is not that bad considering it's a diesel. I suppose the petrol/diesel debate is down to preference. The OP should test drive both a petrol & the diesel version then make your mind up as to what you prefer.

martynv8 said:

& once again the usual debate decends into the usual absurdity.

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Agree 100%. It's a shame but threads like this are so predictable. The chips on the shoulders of some posters here can surely be seen from space...

Only thing I don't like about my P38 derv is when I'm off boost. When cold it can take a while for boost to arrive, but once there she goes well. Nothing worse than a cold engine on a slight incline when trying to turn into the road. Put the foot down and nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, boooooooooost

I've been rocking derv for a lot of years now with man different marquees and the only thing that'd make me change to a V8 is the sound track, but the reliability of a derv is what keeps me going back to them... well when I say reliability I don't mean my current derv, it is a piece of ****. But all other dervs I've had have been great, only ever let down by rust.

Looking back when I was looking for my P38 with no clue....I bought first one I saw which happened to be diesel, which also turned out to be luck more than judgement. As dogsbody says, it is very very quick but no idea why it's so much quicker than most diesels, and some petrols off the lights !!

If I was to buy again....I would go for the highest spec I could find in best condition coupled with value for money as opposed diesel or petrol. It will require money at some point and seeing as mine is just a toy I use at weekends fuel doesn't really matter. Already into the thousands on bits and services. Just wish I had higher spec to save on buying crap I don't need !

Best advice ever given on here ....'look after and maintain your p38- you can reduce down the number of issues that go wrong...'

Just an opinion.....

I'm biased the other way I love Rover V8s - however Rover penny-pinching did ruin what could have been a genuinely great engine. They finally sorted the bottom end out but persevered with the bodged-in liners for an even heavier Range Rover with an engine already near its design limits. Why didn't they fit top-hat liners? Rover engineers were fully aware of the issues this engine was going to have.

martynv8 said:

& once again the usual debate decends into the usual absurdity.

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What is absurd about a dislike of crap Rover V8's. more absurd to throw cash away on petrol or drive a gas bomb.
As an aside, France is refusing to register new Mercedes because the aircon is now charged with inflamible gas, possibly propane, there have been several fiery incidents

RV8 is ****e, it's out of date, uneconomical 1960's based junk, I found a quad cam 32 valve 261 hp alternative v8 much more economical and reliable.

I have 2 rv8 still, one as scrap and one in a vehicle, neither would I bother rebuilding.

On the same wavelength I wouldn't buy another p38 and even an L322 wouldn't be on the list unless a gift as both are simply too unreliable.

Discovery or defender would be my choice

Diesel,petrol or lpg these cars are ALL at least 11years old now and many of them have seen many miles, so all will be suffering age related problems and unfortuatly both the diesel and petrol have simler intolerances to overheat
So ask yourself , yes the diesel has a slightly stronger engine and the cost of fuel these days have marginly better miles per £ but there underpowered ! Alturnativly the petrol yes sufferes from headgasket problems regular but is by far a much more powerfull engine and as such for normal ploding round town you will rarely find the need to floor it so less stress on the engine
Sum up if your happy ploding round at a slow gentle pace get a diesel, if you want to go blazing through life like your hairs on fire your gona need a petrol but beware youll need a few k for when it slips a liner

gfromleeds said:

Diesel,petrol or lpg these cars are ALL at least 11years old now and many of them have seen many miles, so all will be suffering age related problems and unfortuatly both the diesel and petrol have simler intolerances to overheat
So ask yourself , yes the diesel has a slightly stronger engine and the cost of fuel these days have marginly better miles per £ but there underpowered ! Alturnativly the petrol yes sufferes from headgasket problems regular but is by far a much more powerfull engine and as such for normal ploding round town you will rarely find the need to floor it so less stress on the engine
Sum up if your happy ploding round at a slow gentle pace get a diesel, if you want to go blazing through life like your hairs on fire your gona need a petrol but beware youll need a few k for when it slips a liner

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A good chipped diesel will stay witha V8 and diesel is much cheaper than petrol in France

Bix said:

Only thing I don't like about my P38 derv is when I'm off boost. When cold it can take a while for boost to arrive, but once there she goes well. Nothing worse than a cold engine on a slight incline when trying to turn into the road. Put the foot down and nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, boooooooooost

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The BMW unit in the P38, I think was designed to go in BMW saloons so hauling a great lump like the P38 around isn't the best.